Calm becomes the world’s first mental health tech unicorn after raising an $88m series B round

Mindfulness app Calm plans to expand further after being valued at $1bn and aims to improve its users sleep

Running a business can be difficult so it’s important to ensure you keep a check on your mental health. According to mental health organisation Mind, the overall amount of people experiencing mental health issues hasn’t changed much and worrying about issues such as finance can become a burden. Given this need, it’s unsurprising mindfulness app startup Calm has just become the world’s first mental health tech unicorn after securing a $88m series B round.

The investment round was led by TPG Growth and CAA Ventures as well as its previous investors Insight Venture Partners and Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures. With the latest investment, the app is now valued at $1bn and aims to expand internationally as well as inject more resources in premium content for its users. The startup previously raised a $27m series A round in June 2018.

Having launched in 2012, the app started as a meditation app and has branched into improving sleep and relaxation through its sleep stories. It even teamed up with Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley for this feature. Having already accumulated more than 40 million downloads and more than one million paying subscribers in 2018, Calm aims to use the new investment to expand internationally.

Commenting on the importance of mental health, co-founder and CEO, Michael Acton Smith said in an interview, CNBC reported: “Mental health was something people didn’t really talk about until recently. Something is really changing dramatically. There’s a societal shift of people taking care of their minds and being more interested in sleep and self-care.”

From music to masterclasses, Calm’s solutions to make people stress-free is definitely making a good impact. We’re sure to say our previous cover star Acton Smith, who also founded Moshi Monsters, is not going to stop anytime soon.